Liturgy for August 13, 2023
Links
View PDF
Reflections
The fear of God is to be united with the love of God; for love without fear makes men remiss, and fear without love makes them servile and desperate.
J. Gerhard
I wished God were like He used to be, a few notches lower. I wanted Him to be lofty enough to help me but not so uncontrollable. I longed for His warm presence, times when He seemed more… safe.
Joni Eareckson Tada
Vis-a-vis God speaking to me, I don’t mean the voice of Charlton Heston playing Moses booming from on high, but reversals of attitude so contrary to my typical thoughts — so solidly true — as to seem divinely external.
Mary Karr
from Lit: A Memoir
It is uphill work for the creature to reach the Creator.
Charles Spurgeon
Call to Worship
from Psalm 98 and Romans 5
Leader: O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!
People: We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Leader: His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.
People: We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Leader: The LORD has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
People: We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Leader: All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
People: We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Leader: Come and Worship!
Hymn of Praise: Holy, Holy, Holy
Prayer of Praise and the Lord’s Prayer
Confession of Sin
Matthew 17:14-20
And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Leader: This is the Word of the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God.
Corporate Confession of Sin
All: Father, we confess this morning that we have little faith because the things that we trust are little. Though we claim to have faith in Your Son, we often live as if our real trust is somewhere else. We don’t trust in Your goodness, or Your sovereignty, or Your wisdom, or Your justice, or Your strength. This unbelief, Lord, leads to fear, and fear leads to self-reliance. Rather than trusting in Jesus, we admit that we trust our own wisdom, our own strength, and our own abilities. We look to ourselves for courage, security, and comfort. We let fear drive our decisions, not faith. We look to ourselves to make things right. We choose ourselves instead of You. We are more afraid of people and circumstances than we trust You. We are afraid of failure, we are afraid of pain, we are afraid of rejection, and we allow that fear to command our lives. You have commanded us to be strong and courageous. You have told us that You are faithful and that You are the One in charge. You have proved it over and over again, and yet we still run to other things. Forgive us, Lord. Increase our faith and turn it always towards You. Amen
Assurance of Pardon and the Peace of God
From Isaiah 41
But you, Israel, my servant, you whom I called from the ends of the earth, is saying to you, “I have chosen you. Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Leader: People of God, the Rock of Ages, the God of Israel has called you and gathered you as His own, and He will not cast you out, for His Son has suffered and died for our fears and failures and He has risen that we may have peace with God. May that peace always be with you.
People: And also with you.
Silent Confession and Reflection
Hymn: Not What My Hands Have Done
Affirmation of Faith
From the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter XIV, "Of Saving Faith"
Leader: The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts,
People: But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace.
Leader: This faith is different in degrees, weak or strong; may often and in many ways be assailed, and weakened,
People: but gets the victory through Christ, who is both the author and finisher of our faith.
Hymn: Gloria Patri
Prayer of Intercession
Hymn: Come, Thou Font of Every Blessing
Preaching of the Word
Straining at the Oars -- Rev. Ken Nippert
Scripture: Mark 6:45-52
Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
The Sacrament of Communion
Distribution of the Bread
Prayer
Distribution of Wine
Prayer
The Giving of Peace
Pastor: May the peace of Christ be with you!
People: And also with you!
Hymn: All My Ways Are Known To You
Benediction
Jude 24, 25
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.
And God’s People said:
All: Amen!